20 NATURALIST'S CABINET. 



Observations. 



CHAP. II. 



" Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacock, 

 Or wings and feathers unto the ostrich?" 



BOOK OF JOB. 



THE OSTRICH. 



THE ostrich has an indisputable claim to stand 

 foremost in the arrangement of the feathered 

 tribe, not only upon account of the superiority 

 of its size, but because it appears to form the 

 connecting link in the great chain of Nature be- 

 tween birds and quadrupeds; in the general out- 

 line it certainly resembles the former, and at the 

 same time possesses many of the characteristics 

 of the latter, especially in the internal formation, 

 which may be said to have as great a similarity 

 to the one as the other; it is also the same with 

 the external covering, which, although a kind of 

 plumage, bears as near a resemblance to hair as 

 to feathers. 



The ostrich stands so high, as to measure from 



